The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1887-12-30

on earth peace and good will to men,,
and as Peter Perkins watched this beautiz
ful countenance he saw its expression
change. Sometimes it became that of a
little child, sweet and infantine, again it
was tender and pitiful, then it looked as
1t must have done when he said, Come
TO me, all ye weary and heavy laden,''
then 1t was filled full of sorrow and merci-
full goodness, and then it grew stern and
awful.
Then Peter Perkins noticed that there
was throng ever increasing and reach
ing far below them SO that the end of
them was fur out of sight, and these
people came singly to the foot of the
Saviour and there laid Il gift which was in
stantly taken by the angels and laid upon
pair Of scales, which did not measure by
tho weight of the gift itself, but the
motive which lay like living heart in
side it.
Then Peter Perkins saw that all who
had not yet offered their gift had a bur-
den to carry, largo or small, and he sud-
denly became aware that the bl rden fast
ened upon his own back was enormous
and was very heavy. But he turned to
the stranger and said: "When will it be
my turps"
"When all Of these shall have passcd.n
And he had to stand there with the
great unknown weight upon his shoulders
for long hours, or days, or years, he did
not Know which, while all these people
came by.
He noticed q man who staggered by
and laid heavy weight of gold chalices
and church candlesticks and other en-
blems at his feet, and Peter Perkins saw
with surprise that they flew up in the bal
ance as If Of air. Another offered q
church, which was as SO much paper, and
then q poor old woman in rags staggered
along with cup Of cold water as her only
offering. This sent the scales down, down,
rs II it weighed ton, and then pale,
thin man came and offered only q tear.
This, too, weighed heavier than gold.
Sometimes an old broken toy, or some
old, worn garments, or even crust Of
bread was laid at his feet, and these, too,
were very heavy on those wonderful
scales.
Peter Perkins noticed, too, that those
whose gifts were light disappeared from
view, and he watched until he saw them
fall into space and fade away in distance,
while the angels sent pitying glances after
them.
Suddenly the Saviour said:
"Now, Peter Perkins, what gift have
you brought to the Lord on this his birth
day2n
"Oh! am willing to give you all I
have, but this bundle upon my back was
not intended for you but for the poor. II
you will Jet me go back will return with
something more worthy of you"
SBut what have you in that bundlep''
"Only some flour, and meal. and sugar
and ham, and rice, which are not quite
fresh and good, but thought they would
do for the poor''-
"And have you never heard Of my
words, when I said: Tnasmuch as ye do it
unto the least of these, my children, We
do it unto me9' Look, that cup of water
was given by sick and suffering woman
to one who suffered worse. That holy
tear was given from pure heart that had
nothing else to offer, but you, out of your
abundance, offer only that which is unfit
for food, and in offering that to the un-
fortunate poor you have offered it to me.''
II did not know! Oh, please let me 90
back and will do differently''-
"Alasl you have lived youi life, and
you must, like all that throng you have
seen, take your deeds with you to plead
for or against you. You can return no
more than they. All men bring their
passports Of good or evil actions with
them here, and once they have come
naught can change. They must bear their
fate. Some of them did not know but you
had q mother who taught you Alright, but
you forgot her words of wisdom or put
them aside. So, now, go your way"
And with these words Peter Perkins
felt himself falling into perdition, weight
ed down by the moldy flour and spoiled
bread and sugar. Down, down he went,
faster than many others who were on the
way, and he cried out in his agony of
fear, when suddenly with that cry he
awoke and sat up in bed. This then had
been a dream! But 1t had opened his
eyes, and he began to see things as he
never had done before. He remembered
his mothers teachings, and he slept no
more that night. But as soon as daylight
dawned he dressed and went-to the store
where poor, faithful Mark, who had slaved
ten years for him, was packing those
wretched things into the wagon